


hopelessly

by hoegeta



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Angst, Awkward Flirting, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Stupidity, Swearing, barret and cid being dumb, just a lil bit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:33:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26292691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoegeta/pseuds/hoegeta
Summary: Cloud tries to flirt. It doesn't go well.
Relationships: Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife
Comments: 24
Kudos: 133





	hopelessly

**Author's Note:**

> im in the middle of like 10,000 cloti fics rn bc my mind never stops but i wrote this instead of all of those
> 
> warning: barely edited bc im lazy

Cloud and Tifa are a couple.

That’s a fact. They are a couple. No, he didn’t shower her with flowers and chocolates and kisses and ask her to be his girlfriend. No, he hasn’t proposed to her. They’re not married. Technicalities aside, they’re a couple in every other sense of the word. They come home to each other. They manage the bar and the delivery service together. They act as parents to Denzel and also Marlene when Barret isn’t around. They’re a family, tucked away within their cozy little house in Edge, and even though they’ll never truly escape the trauma of the past, they’re trying. They’re okay. They’re happy.

Cloud doesn’t really like calling Tifa his girlfriend. It seems so superficial, putting that label on her when she’s so much more than just a girlfriend. She’s his best friend. His lover. His partner in crime. His light. His clarity when everything around him had been blurred and smeared. His forever.

 _Girlfriend_ doesn’t encompass all that Tifa means to him. So, he’s not too fond of the term.

But, clearly, Barret and Cid don’t understand that.

“What’re you, a wimp?!” Cid’s hand is heavy as it slams against Cloud’s back. The action is in good nature, but it nearly dislodges one of Cloud’s lungs. “Can’t even call her your girlfriend?!”

“I…” Cloud trails off. What is he supposed to say? Cid had asked him what Tifa means to him, and he had stuttered, unable to form a coherent reply.

“You gotta step up your game, son!” Barret hollers, setting down his glass. Cloud isn’t religious, never prays, not sure if he even believes in a god. But he’s sure fucking praying right now that Tifa doesn’t overhear this conversation. They’re faraway enough from the counter, at a table in the corner, but Cid and Barret are so loud he’s sure people in Junon can hear them. “Woo her!”

“ _Woo_?” Cloud parrots. When is the last time he heard that term? Woo. Woo Tifa?

“Yeah!” Cid yells. “Flirt with her! Make her yours!”

“But…she’s already mine…” Cloud mutters, furrowing his brow. Isn’t she? They’re a couple.

“That doesn’t mean you’re done!” Barret’s hand is even heavier than Cid’s had been, and Cloud seriously thinks one of his bones is cracked. “With Myrna, I brought her flowers and chocolates every other day! You gotta keep the romance alive, son!”

Keep the romance alive. Flirt. _Woo_ her. Woo Tifa?

Cloud looks at Tifa, who’s chattering away with her patrons, watches her shoulders as she shakes up a drink. Her eyes are twinkling, ruby reds that glitter in stars, the flutter of her lashes, the pink bled into the highs of her cheeks. She’s Tifa. His Tifa. They’re a couple. She means the absolute world to him.

Does she want him to flirt with her? Cloud isn’t the most romantic guy around. Actually, he isn’t romantic at all. Their night under the Highwind, ages ago, he’d been a fumbling, stammering disaster, their hands nervous and wandering, messy and inexperienced and frenzied with need. There wasn’t much romance there. When they’d begun living together, it took him weeks to muster up the courage to even hug her, much less kiss her. He especially doesn’t show affection to her when the kids are around. And plus, he’s hardly ever home, always out on deliveries to faraway places.

Oh god, maybe Barret and Cid are right. Cloud’s an idiot. An unaffectionate _loser_. He has to keep the romance alive.

Flirt, they’d said. _Woo_ her, they’d said.

Okay. Alright. He can do that.

**.**

**.**

**.**

_Tip 1: Pickup Lines_

If Cloud is home, he’ll always help Tifa clean up the bar after closing. The kids are safely tucked away in bed, and he’s wiping down stubborn stains on the counter, while Tifa wrestles a sponge into some shot glasses at the sink. The nervousness whirls within Cloud’s abdomen, coming up to dry out his throat. It’ll be fine, he thinks. It’s Barret and Cid’s advice. It’ll be okay.

“Tifa?”

She hums.

“Do you have an extra heart?”

She stops what she’s doing, turns to look at him with her eyes wide.

“What?”

“Because you just stole mine.”

The second the words leave his tongue, he wishes he can take them back. Cloud kind of wants to shrivel into a hole and die, because Tifa’s so perplexed she doesn’t speak for a long moment.

“Huh?”

Fuck. Shit.

“Do you know CPR? Because you’re taking my breath away.”

“What are you—”

“If nothing lasts forever, will you be my nothing?”

“Cloud, are you sick?”

She walks to him, swiping away his fringe and placing her palm onto his forehead. The back of her other hand rests on his cheek, the same way it does whenever she checks for Denzel or Marlene’s temperature when they’re not feeling well.

“You feel fine,” she decides, stepping back and frowning. “Maybe you should go to bed. I’ll clean up here.”

Cloud is dumbfounded. He stands with his jaw slack, watching as Tifa puts her rubber gloves back on and resumes where she left off with the dishes. And he’s so confused, because Barret and Cid were so sure that those pickup lines would work. If anything, he at least expected a little chuckle out of her.

Nothing. Instead, she thinks he isn’t feeling well.

Honestly, he doesn’t blame her.

Cloud trudges up the stairs in defeat. He didn’t even get to use his best line.

_Are you a baker? Because you’re a cutie pie._

**.**

**.**

**.**

_Tip 2: Gifts_

Since the pickup lines were a failure, Cloud decides to try another tactic. Barret had mentioned that he always brought home gifts for Myrna, and Cid said that he always bought gifts for his many girlfriends back in his younger days.

So, when Cloud had a delivery in Wutai, he decided to splurge. And by _splurge_ , he means dropping the majority of all the gil to his name on gifts for Tifa.

That shopkeeper was cunning, Cloud thinks now. She’d roped him in with her sweet, friendly words, had her wrapped around her finger as she kept adding and adding and adding to his cart. Shirts. Skirts. Dresses. Pants. Shoes. Hair clips. Jewelry. A _lot_ of jewelry. Tifa doesn’t even wear much besides her teardrop earrings and a couple of rings on her fingers. But the bracelets the shopkeeper showed him had looked so stunning, sparkling gold and gems, and he knew he had to have them.

And now, as he hauls the bag off the back of Fenrir, his knees buckling under him from the sheer weight of it all, he thinks that _maybe_ he’s made a mistake. But it’s fine. It’s all for Tifa. She deserves all the prettiest things in the world, because he loves her. He hopes the gifts will make her happy.

They don’t. Quite the opposite, actually.

“Cloud,” she begins, her voice quiet, bitten in constrained rage. “How much did you spend on all of this?”

He looks at the bag. Marlene and Denzel have gotten their hands on the jewelry, Marlene pretending she’s a princess as Denzel places a necklace on her head.

“N—not that much…”

He’s a filthy liar.

Tifa takes a deep, deep breath. She places her hands on her hips, and oh no, _oh no_.

He’s in trouble. He knows he is. He braces himself for the inevitable scolding.

It comes. Damn, does it come.

“You know we always struggle with money. How could you be so irresponsible? This is way too much. It was probably so expensive. When you go back to Wutai for another delivery, you’re going to return everything, you hear me?”

Cloud kind of feels like a kicked puppy right now. He nods.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Tifa’s expression melts, her features softening. She comes towards him, her hand cupping his cheek, and he bathes in the touch, the softness of her skin against his.

“I know you meant well,” she says. “And I really appreciate it. But it’s way too much. I don’t need all of this.”

When the kids aren’t looking, she places a very quick kiss on the tip of his nose.

“You’re cute. But if you do something this stupid again, I _will_ punch you.”

He has absolutely no doubt about that.

**.**

**.**

**.**

_Tip 3: Date Night_

Cloud mulls over where he and Tifa should go on a date.

It’s difficult with the kids, but Cid and Barret offered to take them for a weekend to help with the cause. Cloud appreciates it, he guesses. But where would he and Tifa go? She’d have to close the bar for the night. Should they go a restaurant? But there aren’t many good ones in Edge. The Gold Saucer? But she only likes going there with the kids. Costa Del Sol? But that’s too far for only a weekend trip.

In the end, he thinks he should let Tifa decide. She probably has a good idea about where they can go. She did once mention that she’d like to go back to the nearby farm to ride the chocobos…

Right from the morning, Tifa is busy. She’s running around the kitchen, frenzied and rambling about how she’s drowned to the brim in things to do. She’s putting together breakfast for the kids, who are seated at the table, eagerly waiting with their spoons in hand. Cloud awkwardly walks to Tifa, and right when she sees him, she drops some slices of bread into his hands.

“Can you toast these for me? Thank you!”

Of course he will. He loves her, and he lives to serve her.

As the slices of bread are toasting, Cloud thinks. Tifa’s busy. She’s always busy. She does run the most popular bar in all of Edge, after all. She’s especially busy with the kids when Cloud isn’t around, and he kind of feels bad for not helping out enough. It isn’t his fault, and he knows that, but he still wishes he could spend more time with her and the kids.

For now, he should focus on spending time with her. Wooing her, as Barret and Cid said. Keeping the romance alive. It’s moments like these where Cloud thinks that yeah, maybe they really are right. It’s hard to maintain a romance when they’re both so busy with their businesses and Marlene and Denzel.

“Hey, Tifa?”

“Yes, sweetie?”

He gets ready to speak, but Tifa’s mouth opens, her eyes going wide.

“Shoot! I completely forgot about the delivery today!” She slides some eggs onto Denzel’s plate. “God, everything is a mess! There’s so much to do! I can’t keep track of it all!”

She’s waving her hands around as she vents, and Cloud’s careful to dodge her swinging spatula. 

“Sorry. What were you going to say, Cloud?”

Cloud begins to stammer, his cheeks going hot. 

“N—nothing...”

Perhaps their date night will have to wait. He sighs. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t disappointed.

**.**

**.**

**.**

_Tip 4: Seduction_

Cloud hates himself for going along with this.

Yeah, sure, he and Tifa haven’t had sex in a while. They’re busy. They’re adults with lives and countless things to do. Plus, they have two little children to look after. A lot of the time, sex is the very last thought on their minds.

But, like Cid and Barret said, sex is often very important in keeping the romance alive. And yeah, he’ll admit it: he’s fucking _dying_ to get into bed with Tifa again.

(He’s going to pretend like he never heard Cid telling him to “pose naked on the bed with a rose stem in his mouth.”)

It’s the perfect time. The bar is closed and cleaned up. The kids are asleep. Tifa’s getting ready for bed. Cloud’s back from a delivery and has taken a much-needed shower. And he _conveniently_ forgot to bring clean clothes into the bathroom with him.

As soon as he enters the bedroom, shutting the door behind him, nothing but a towel on his bare form, Tifa’s eyes don’t leave him. She stops what she’s doing, ogles his torso, follows the beads of water as they crawl down his skin. He’s flattered. He’s not going to deny it. He often forgets that he has just as much of an effect on her as she does on him.

“Forgot your clothes?” she asks, a teasing lilt in her tone as she stalks closer to him. He can’t bite away the smirk that forms on the edge of his mouth.

“Maybe.”

His hands go for her hips, taking their rightful place, and hers go right for his towel. His kiss is messy, his tongue curling with hers as if it’s starved. Tifa mewls into his mouth, and as soon as the towel comes undone, she presses against him, her hand going to stroke at his—

There’s a knock on the door, followed by a quiet whine.

“Tifa? I had a nightmare. Can I sleep with you tonight?”

Tifa detaches herself from Cloud as if he’s come down with the plague. He goes for his towel, trying to cover himself as he scrambles towards the closet. Great. Fucking great.

“Of course, sweetie! Just give us a second!” Tifa turns to him. “Make yourself decent!”

Cloud loves Marlene with all his heart. He truly does. But sometimes, her timing is too _fucking_ impeccable.

**.**

**.**

**.**

_Tip 5: Flowers and Chocolate_

He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a _tad bit_ frustrated. No, actually, he’s really frustrated, especially since he was left with a terrible boner the other night with no way to relieve it. Ever since then, he and Tifa haven’t had a single moment alone together.

He decides to try the simplest of tactics: flowers and chocolate, like Barret had suggested. He’d picked some up in Kalm while on his last delivery. He didn’t have the heart to go to Elmyra’s house or Aerith’s church. He didn’t feel like he could.

He’s moved on. He’s forgiven himself. He’s happy. Truly happy. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t miss her.

He hopes Tifa likes the flowers. They’re yellow lilies, just like the one he’d given her long, long ago, when he first came back to Midgar after five years. He remembers the way her face lit up like the sun had risen in her eyes, the shy smile, the little giggle that spilled out of her lips. He’d liked that, that gentle expression of glee and flattery, the blush that began to adorn her features. He hopes to see it again. The chocolates are just a bonus; she doesn’t eat sweet things too often, but maybe she deserves a little indulgence.

He walks into the bar. She’s getting ready to open for the night, and she looks up when she hears the bell atop the door ringing. She smiles.

“You’re back!” Her gaze drops to the flowers in his hold.

And then, her smile falls.

Cloud feels the panic brewing in his chest. He stutters as he struggles to respond.

“I, uh…got these for you…”

Tifa takes the bouquet of lilies, fingering at one of the petals. Her smile comes back, just a hint, just a ghost, and he’s relieved to see it.

But then, she begins to cry.

“I miss her.”

The last time Tifa cried, they were at the altar, kneeling around Aerith’s body.

He’s stupid. _Stupid_. He should have known. Flowers will always, always remind them of Aerith. She’d been the flower peddler; she’d smelled like flowers, sweet and lovely. She was beautiful like the flowers she loved so much. And Cloud is an absolute fucking idiot, because why did he think this would be a good idea?

Flowers don’t mean the same to them, not anymore. Flowers only represent the dear friend they lost.

He hugs Tifa, cradles her close to him as she cries. His throat is tight, closing in on him, his lungs feeling like they’re submerged in water.

Idiot. Fucking _idiot_.

He’s going to kill Barret.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Cloud’s starting to think that he _maybe_ fucking _sucks_ at this.

He’s inept at a lot of things. He knows he is. But flirting? With Tifa? God, he’s absolutely fucking hopeless at it. Their romance is doomed at this point. He can’t believe he failed every single attempt. (The flower one he can believe, because that was so unbearably stupid he honestly can’t understand why he did it.)

The part that upsets him the most is that Tifa means the world to him, and he has no way of showing her that. She’s more than just a girlfriend to him. She’s everything to him, his light, his clarity, his happiness, his home. Tifa’s his home, his sense of peace and stability when he had nothing for years and years. She’s everything to him.

And he can’t even show her that. He’s stupid. Fucking stupid.

They’d gone to bed not long ago. She’s tired since the bar was especially busy tonight; he’s glad he came back early from his delivery, because he was able to help her. He thinks she’s asleep, but she turns around to face him, her eyes wide open and flooded in moonlight.

“Can’t sleep?”

“Not really,” she replies. “You must have been tired after your delivery.”

“I’m alright,” he says.

“Thank you for helping me.”

He’ll always help her. Because she’s his Tifa. The love of his life. His everything.

“You don’t have to thank me,” he says, feels a little shy as color begins to burn into his face. “I’ll do anything for you.”

“Oh?” A sly smile curls onto her mouth. “Really?”

Cloud nods. The words barrel out of him before he’s able to stop them, borne from the deepest, purest recesses of his heart.

“Because I love you. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

It’s the truth. It’s wholly the truth. She’s the best thing that’s ever come to him.

Her eyes go wide, glazed over, catching the shine of the stars outside. She breaks into a little giggle, breathless and giddy. He likes that giggle, feels it roll over all his senses.

“When did you get so gushy?”

He splutters. “I—”

His next words are swallowed by her kiss. Tifa tastes like happiness, like relief, like everything he doesn’t deserve. He tastes the mint of the toothpaste, the cherry of the lip balm she always wears before bed. He holds her neck and kisses her deeper, throwing himself into her and drowning without a single care in the world. He pulls her closer, and she comes on top of him, straddling him.

They pull back for air, flushing.

“I love you too,” she tells him, her finger drawing a trail down his jaw. “I think we should pick up where we left off the other night.”

He smirks, feeling hot all over, a fire pooling in the pit of his stomach.

“I think so too.”

And as he’s kissing her, reaching for her skin and tearing off her clothes, he thinks that maybe, maybe the romance between them hasn’t died after all. They’re okay. They’ll be okay.

**.**

**.**

**.**

The next night, Cid and Barret are back at the bar. Cloud sits with them at their usual table, watching them as they down their beers.

“So,” Cid starts, his grin wide. “Did our tips work?!”

“Not at all,” Cloud says simply, crossing his arms. “All my attempts failed.”

“What?!” Barret squawks. “You’re fuckin’ hopeless, son!”

That he is. Still, he isn’t too worried. He and Tifa are just fine. And they always will be, because they’re each other’s forever. He doesn’t have to try so hard to flirt with her. He doesn’t have to _woo_ her, because she’s already wooed.

And he’s never, _ever_ going to listen to Barret and Cid’s advice again.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading <3


End file.
